VIRGINIA BEACH — Following a historic local election in Virginia Beach, the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit that led to a new district voting system here say they hope the new manner of selecting City Council and School Board members will continue.
And the new way was a success, they said, though questions remain about whether the new system will ever be used again.
Latasha Holloway and Georgia Allen, the plaintiffs, said during interviews this past week that they – and all Virginia Beach voters – had a chance to vote for the first time in an election for local city offices that allowed only the people within residency districts to select their own representatives.
Formerly, the city used an unusual system in which even people living outside seven residency districts chose who represented said districts. There are 10 districts under the new system, and the mayor – the 11th council member – is still elected by all city voters.
“This new system proved that the people’s voices were heard,” Holloway said by telephone on Tuesday, Nov. 22. “Every district was able to vote for the representation it wants to speak for them. That is what a fair electoral system looks like.”
Allen, who formerly led the NAACP branch in Virginia Beach, applauded the diversity of the incoming City Council.
“It was a thrill,” she added. “It really felt good to be able to walk in and know I had a chance of actually electing somebody from the community and who was not hand-picked by the powers that be. I had the opportunity to elect my representative.”
Three people of color will join – or, in one instance, rejoin – the City Council in January. Political newcomers Jennifer Rouse and Chris Taylor were elected in District 10 and District 8, respectively. Dr. Amelia Ross-Hammond, who formerly held the old Kempsville District seat, won election after running unopposed in the new District 4.
The new district plan has three majority-minority districts, which are meant to give a greater opportunity for voters to elect candidates of their choice under the U.S. Voting Rights Act. Two of those districts were on the 2022 ballot, Districts 4 and 10.
The federal suit, Holloway v. Virginia Beach, alleged the former voting system here violated the U.S. Voting Rights Act by denying Black, Hispanic and Asian-American voters a fair say in elections. The plaintiffs successfully argued the case, and, in late 2021, U.S. District Judge Raymond E. Jackson ordered the implementation of the new 10-1 voting system designed by a court-appointed special master.
Between the court ruling that led to that order and changes to state law, some of which directly addressed the situation in Virginia Beach, the city’s former at-large local voting system cannot return as it was.
However, a federal appeals court overturned the district court decision this summer, agreeing with the city position that the decision was moot due to the changes to state law. It was too late to change the system, so Virginia Beach went ahead with the election.
Again, whether the that 10-district system will stay in effect is unknown. The next round of local elections are two years away, and there already have been discussions – some heated – about what to do next.
City Council and School Board elections were both effected by the changed system, but the suit itself dealt only with the City Council. The Independent News has written previously about how the changes influenced the School Board differently.
“I was pleased with the outcome,” Allen said of the 2022 local elections. “I realize the media hasn’t made a whole of noise that Virginia Beach shook things up. Right here in the city of Virginia Beach, there’s been no mention that three African Americans have been elected” in the same election.
What about 2024?
“We won’t know until the new council is seated and they vote to keep things the same,” Allen said. “That’s the goal. … It’s in the best interest of the citizens.”
“I think the citizens of Virginia Beach should be proud they have an electoral system that genuinely allowed for new and fair representation,” Holloway said.
Holloway, who led an effort to recall Mayor Bobby Dyer and has said she will run for mayor, said this past week that those who would support a return to an unfair system should be removed from office.
“It is my hope that we continue the path that we’re on of fair and equitable elections within the city of Virginia Beach so we can promote fairness for all who come into our city,” Holloway said.
Earlier this month, the trial court in the federal suit addressed recent filings by the plaintiffs and defendants after the appeals court this summer essentially agreed with the city that the situation in Virginia Beach had changed with state law, making the decision in the matter moot. The appeals court sent the suit back to the district court judge, meaning the court is still watching what happens with city elections.
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, Jackson agreed with a motion by the plaintiffs to stay, or postpone, proceedings and denied a request by the city for the court to dismiss the case.
The city had argued that the court no longer has jurisdiction over the case, and there is no “live controversy today” about how the city may draw district lines under another system.
“Until that future redistricting,” the city wrote in a filing on Monday, Nov. 7, “the city will use the plan fashioned in this litigation, which plaintiffs do not challenge.”
The prior system, the city notes, cannot be restored, and any new potential system would need to meet the standards of the Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs could file another suit at that point if they feel the standard is not met, according to the city.
“But the time for the suit is after, not before, the plan is adopted,” the city argued.
Jackson wrote, “It would be a waste of judicial resources to hold any proceedings ahead of the new council’s determination or dismiss the case before the new council’s determination. …
“A commencement of proceedings after the City Council has decided upon a new method of election would still provide defendants sufficient time to defend that system, if necessary, before the next City Council election in November 2024.”
“There’s no active case at this moment,” Deputy City Attorney Chris Boynton said during a telephone interview on Tuesday, Nov. 22, “but it’s still technically pending in U.S. District Court.”
Boynton said a next step would be for the City Council – presumably, he noted, the incoming council – to gather for a briefing on where things are and start any process of making decisions about how to proceed.
The plaintiffs in the suit declined to comment on the legal case. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit organization which represented them, could not be reached for comment prior to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Mayor Bobby Dyer on Tuesday, Nov. 22, told The Independent News public engagement will be part of any process of deciding what comes next for the city’s voting system.
“We’ve got to get out and ask the people what they think,” Dyer said at City Hall. “We’ve got to get the people involved into the process. Let’s find a compromise that makes as many people happy as possible.”
But is there a chance the 10-1 system will be in place in two years?
“Let’s take the temperature on how people feel, and then we’ll go from there,” Dyer said.
City Councilmember Aaron Rouse, who did not seek reelection this year and is running for state senate, said there will be efforts to change the 10-district system, which he said worked as intended. Rouse’s wife, Jennifer Rouse, won office in District 10.
“It’s a fact,” he said on Wednesday, Nov. 23. “There will be an effort to try to turn the pages back. I hope people are aware of that. … It comes down to power and influence. I think that’s how it’s historically been in Virginia Beach, but now it’s a new day.”
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I never understood why people voted for districts they didn’t live in or care about.